Monday, May 28, 2007

week 28 May

Mo - 3.3
Pretty stiff and went really slowly (first lap was 29:0X -- a little over 10 min/mi). Then at about 30 minutes the back of my right knee suddenly grabbed me. I tried to walk/jog it off for a couple of minutes, but gave up and walked home. I think I should take the next couple of days completely off.

Tu - Rest

We - Rest

Th - 4.86
9:04 min/mi. Shouldn't have run this fast. Felt like I was lucky to finish without hurting it.

Fr - 8.3
old lake A route. Very, very slowly. 10:32 min/mi (135 bpm). Went gingerly to avoid any strain on the hamstring and walked 60 steps every 5 minutes or so.

Sa- 8.3
Week after the marathon I ran 8.3 miles @9:09min/mi (143 bpm). Today was 9:58/145 on the same route. Ugh. Temp today was avg 73 with a dew point of 60. Before it was 65/38. Weather explains a lot, but I feel like I'm out of shape. The hamstring was much better today. I hardly felt it. It's almost like the long slow run helped more than the days off.

Su - 12.8
Dreadful run. I planned for 3 laps around lake B (4.6 each). 1st 2 were 45 minutes (just under 10mm) and my hamstring felt fine although it was harder than it should be for 10mm. It wasn't even warm (71 degrees) but the dew point was 66(!). Is humidity really that bad or am I just out of shape? Then about 10 minutes short of finishing my hamstring really hurt and I walked it in. Steady rain to add to the fun.

week
38 miles
shoes
wp6-1: 396 + 13 = 409
wp7-1: 121 + 25 = 146
wr10-1: 335

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

week of 21 May

Mo - 4.11
9:31 min/mi, 137 bpm. Still high for the pace, but closer to normal. Could feel the calf, but didn't get worse. wp7-1

Tu - 10.1
Lake A loop plus 1/2 a nbhrd loop (8.3 + 1.8). I could feel the calf but I still tried a very ill-advised tempo portion. About 7 mins in, the hamstring and calf really started to hurt. After I slowed down, I could still feel it with every step. It got a little better at the end and I think I can run, but I might have to forget about a tempo on Thursday. I should have just run easy today. Heart rate pace was OK though. 9:00 min/mi, 140 bpm. The last half loop was 15:26/142 compared to 15:23/138 and the awful 15:11/157 last Saturday. wp7-1

We - 4.1
Still felt hamstring, but made it through OK.

Th - 10.3
Lake A loop plus a "spur" to the flagpole at the rec center. I was told the spur was worth 2.2, but paced on my pace for the rest of the run, dead reckoning puts it at a little over 2. At 54 minutes, the back of my leg *really* started to hurt. I did some jog/walk for a while and then was able to run again. I picked my knees up more (like I was doing before this 9 min shuffle I've fallen into)
and things were easier.

Fr - 4.1
nbhrd loop. 9:02 min/mi

Sa - 4.1
9:35 min/mi. This is what I was doing recovery runs up to the marathon at.

Su - 17.9
Got out fairly early to beat the heat. Hit start at 6:51am. out, around lake b, and back. I warmed up slowly, cautious about my hamstring -- 50:13/131 to the rec center. Pushed it up to 140 and then gradually to 150 by the time I was leaving the lake. On the path to the rec center I let it get to 160 on the big hill leaving and then ran at 160 until I hit the last *big* hill on the parkway. I let it get above 170 and held it there for the last 15 minutes or so. I tried to finish in 2:45 and did it in 2:44:47/147 (9:17 min/mi). The last two 20-milers I did were 9:07 pace and 148 average, but it was pretty warm and humid today though. It was already 69 (62 dew pt) when I started and 78/64 when I finished. I'm almost back to normal. I need to get this hamstring healed though before I start doing tempos. The hamstring didn't really bother me today although I could feel it.

55 miles, 8h24m
shoes
wp6-1: 396 + 0: 396
wp7-1: 66 + 55 = 121
wr10-1: 335 + 0 = 335

Saturday, May 19, 2007

week of 14 May

Very tough week with travel and a cold. I felt like I locked in on an efficient 9 min/mi shuffle though.

Mo - 4.68
41:56. Good pace/heart rate. 8:58 min/mi and 135 bpm average.

Tu - 10.32
7 laps around "The Great Mall" in Milpitas, CA. gmap-pedometer calls it 1.474 miles around. I got out of bed at 3:40am to run with beginning of a cold. Watched the mall start to life as I ran around. At least it was flat as a pancake. I remember thinking I could run a fast 5K on it. After the first lap, the heart rates were 144-146 until the last which was 148. It got noticeably harder the last lap. Quads were also quite sore by the last lap. Splits were very even. Average pace was 8:23 min/mi. 144 bpm average. Nice MAF test I suppose.

We - 4.42
3 laps around the mall. 8:34 min/mi. 148 bpm average.

Th - 10?
Thankfully I switched hotels. My hotel was right by the Coyote creek trail which has a nice path with a surface like the Mt. Vernon bike trail. Unfortunately, I got some bad directions from the hotel and ran an hour before I found it. The trail runs for miles. I saw "mile 13" markers. It's got to be tens of miles. It has markers every half mile. The only downside is you can hear the freeway the whole time, but for travel running this was more than one could hope for.

Fr - 4.7
SFO Marriott. Ran on the path by the hotel along the bay. Guessed the distance assuming ~9 min/mi.

Sa - 4.68
Extremely high heart rate for the pace. Temps in the low 60s. 8:49 min/mi. 151 bpm. Compare to monday. 9 secs/mi isn't worth 16 bpm!

Su - 15.7
Heart rate not as ridiculous as Sat, but still high. At about mile 12 the back of my right knee started to hurt. Really it was the top of my calf and the bottom of my hamstring. I jog/walked for a while before settling into a slower run unil the end. This run really beat me up. I must be sick. 9:06 pace and average 153 bpm over 16 miles. My last two 20 milers were the same pace (9:07) and 148 bpm and through 16 miles were probably in the low 140s. Felt like I got hit by a truck. The temps probably hurt though. It felt OK, but it was 63 when I started and 75 when I finished. Those 20-milers were probably in the 40's.

54.5 miles, 8h1m
shoes
wp6-1: 346 + 50 = 396
wp7-1: 63 + 5 = 68
wr10-1: 335

Saturday, May 12, 2007

week of 7 May

Mo - Rest

Tu - Rest

We - Rest
tempted to run, legs felt good, but was traveling to CA. Sprinting for the parking lot bus was easy though :-)

Th - 8.9
Ran from LAX hotel to the beach, maybe 5 or 6 minutes on the beach path?, then back to hotel. I was able to gmap it and see 8.9 miles. Took 1:27:02. Avg hr was high (142) for the pace 9:46. Legs felt pretty good (until about 60 mins in I felt my quads), but I still had the fatigued feeling in my chest. Also, it was pretty warm and I never run well in the afternoon.

Fr - Rest
Travel day back from CA

Sa -6.2 (5K race)
29:40/141 warmup. I sorta ran the course and guess 9:30 pace in the warmup, which came out to 3.12 so I'll call it 5K :-) I could tell during the warmup, I still had the a little of the fatigued feeling but my legs felt quite good (quads a little sore, but not much).

I guessed I'd run about 20:30 before the race, but I started fast in the first 30 meters or so before realizing I shouldn't be right behind guys I knew ran low 18's. I ran pretty evenly the first mile after that and saw 6:26.7 at the split (avg 177bpm). Right on 20 pace. Should I try? Next mile had some hills and I slowed down like I always seem to in the middle miles 6:35.7/191. I sustained quite a high heart rate, which I'm happy with. The places were basically sorted out by then, except 2 guys passed me in the last mile, but I repassed one. It turns out that was just enough to knock me from 10th to 11th male (12th overall). The last 1.1 were 7:28.8/190 (6:45 pace). 188 average overall from STraM. Obviously I went out too fast, but I have a good idea what 20 min pace feels like (6:26) and how much I'm short. Better rest, a flatter course, and more motivation (if I'm close to 20) is probably worth 15 seconds. I'll have to improve for the other 15.

Anyway, big news is that I got a 2nd place age group award. It was a small race and I had a lean age group I think, but I got to shake my congressman's hand, get my medal and a gift certificate to a restaurant. I ended up $5 and a t-shirt over my entry fee. Maybe I should quit my day job?

It wasn't a certified course, but the RD said it was wheel measured and double-checked with a bike. The mile markers also seemed spot on to me, so I'll count it. Official time was 20:32. 20:31 on my watch. Closest I've ever been to a starting line. I was about third row.

Su - 8.3
Usual lake A route. I thought about doing two laps around the lake (12.1 miles total), but my quads hurt (sharply at times) and I decided that discretion was the better part of valor. I haven't run this in a while and got a little caught up in being able to run it faster now. 1:16:05/143. 9:09 pace. This is a couple of seconds per mile slower than I was running my 20-milers before the marathon, but it felt harder than that! Several factors: marathon 7 days ago, 5K yesterday, I ate breakfast ~hr before, and 63-67 degrees.

week
23.5 miles (yikes that's low!)
shoes
wp6-1: 340 + 6 = 346
wp7-1: 45 + 18 = 63
wr10-1: 335 + mowed the lawn in them :-)

Sunday, May 06, 2007

frederick marathon

The picture tells a lot of the the story. I was running from 7:30am to a little before 11am. Here's some additional whining:
  • The wind was from the NNE and the course is basically a skinny loop oriented NNE.
  • The weather history also shows gusts from 25-30mph from 8:20am on.
  • The course is also probably 90% on open roads -- no shelter.
  • The course is not exactly flat either, but it's fair. +810/-876ft on my watch. MCM was +579/-459 on my watch.
  • It was just insane the last 4 miles having to run much of it straight into the wind (and often uphill).
With the whining out of the way, I actually had a very good result. 3:24:16, which beats my old PR by an even 19 minutes. Not bad. The wind was demoralizing at the end and I felt like I lacked both the physical and mental strength to counter it. I should have expected some fade though as I kept good on my plan to go out at boston qualifying pace (first three miles average 7:20 min/mi), but it soon became clear to me that I wasn't going to make it. I did manage to set a PR at the half though. Chip says 1:38:54.5 (7:33 min/mi). My PR was 1:39:12. At 20 miles I was at 2:32:14 (7:37 min/mi). The I "scorched" the last 10K at an average of 8:22 min/mi. Despite slow down, I actually moved up 5 positions from 17.4 miles (they had a mat there) to the finish. I was 23rd at 6.4, 20th at the half, 19th at 17.4, and 14th (out of 87) at the finish.

Overall a good race for me and I feel like I'm within striking distance of a BQ.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

week of 30 April

Race week

Mo - 4.11
neighborhood loop. I haven't been using bah-bump and I think the bad HR data encourages me to run faster at the beginning. 8:53 pace overall. Didn't notice the calf/tendon thing at all. Didn't feel the knee except walking down the steep hill home. wp7-1

Tu - 4.68
My 4.11 runs have been getting down to 36 minutes and Benji calls for 45 today. I did the longer lap and a half route. 41:XX. Probably too fast for a recovery run, but still the last half lap only average 141 bpm. (First lap avg screwed up by 12 minutes of messed up HRM.) 8:51 pace. No calf/tendon problem and didn't even feel the knee. wp7-1

We - 10.45
Ran to work. Started at about the pace I've been doing the last couple of days (probably too fast) and then probably picked it up slightly. 8:52 pace overall. Out of curiosity, I hit the lap button at the lights, which accounted for about 2 minutes and brings the pace down to 8:40. Average heart rate was 144. HRM worked from the start today. It was warmer than yesterday. 60 at 6am. Hopefully it won't be that warm for the marathon. The forecast keeps improving. High of only 67 now! 50 at 8am and 68 at 2pm. I weighed myself on the dr's scale. 158-3/4. I was 160 flat two weeks ago.

Th - 4.11
nbhrd loop. 36:57/140 (8:59 min/mi). HRM seemed to work pretty well at the beginning again.

Fr - 4.11
nbhrd loop. 37:04/139 (9:01 min/mi). HRM a little goofy at the very beginning. I had some fairly sharp knee pain early in a weird location, but after some walk breaks it went away.

Sa - Rest
Benji says to run 25 minutes, but I didn't see the point, so I didn't.

Su - marathon
3:24:16/172. I've raced 6 marathons and all of them have had an average heart rate of 172 or 173.

week
54 miles
shoes
wp6-1: 314 + 26 = 340
wp7-1: 17 + 28 = 45
wr10-1: 335 + 0 = 335 (not sure I'll wear these again)